Redefine Justice

These are all outcomes of intergenerational trauma, poverty and addiction caused by colonization.

Breaking these cycles is difficult, but communities and organizations remain committed to healing their people, exploring new methods to improve the criminal justice system and tackling deeply rooted issues many Indigenous families continue to face. 

Hollow Water First Nation hosted the first Nation-led Community Holistic Circle Healing Conference (CHCH): Manitoba Restorative Justice. The conference explored alternative justice methods, promoted cultural Justice Worker Training and provided a safe space for workers to express their needs and concerns when working with Indigenous Peoples. Changing the fundamental system by educating those who run it requires a careful, nuanced approach. With Indigenous Peoples being overrepresented in the system, the conference will discuss the potential development of a certified Indigenous Justice program and discern what other issues need to be addressed. 

The Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF) is proud to help fund these early conversations as precursor to a larger national conversation. While the CHCH model has been active for over 30 years, it has only been in the last decade that the possibility of making real changes has been seriously discussed. This development follows on the heels of shifting attitudes and increased education about the impacts that colonization has had on Indigenous Peoples.

CHCH programming focuses on restorative justice, identifying alternative methods to incarceration practices and implementing holistic healing. This conference will be integral to marrying two lines of dialogue from those who work in the system and those who have personally experienced it, to come up with real-word solutions.

Archdiocese of Winnipeg